Structural model to explain bruxism from the transactional stress theory

In order to explain the influence of psychosocial factors in people with self-reported bruxism, an explanatory model was evaluated by analyzing the stress-emotion-handling process based on the transactional stress theory. One hundred and twenty eight people, who self-reported symptoms of bruxism, participated in this study. The following psychological variables were evaluated using self-administered questionnaires of adequate validity and reliability: perceived stress, anxiety, inadequate self-critical coping and social withdrawal, and trait neuroticism. The results of the final structural model show adequate Goodness-of-fit indexes and suggest that, within this group of people, coping as a cognitive and behavioral resource has an influence on the cognitive appraisal of the stressor. In addition, the muscle-mandibular activity of bruxism is interpreted as a physical response to psychological stress.